Concordia News: Please Post Here

[clive and anne]

For those who are unable to watch the Giglio News coverage, Lone has now repositioned at the bow of the wreck and it would be reasonable to assume that they will attach the "Blister" over the next few hours.

That should mean all the Caissons are now attached (11 out of 15).

Not sure how much work there is to do apart from attaching all the cables and filling the caissons before they are ready for the parbuckle.

[CTH]

The office block has now just been lifted off CC & onto a barge moored up to Lone.

 

There is another barge out to sea just beyond Micoperi 30 with a large white object on it, been hanging around for the last few hours. Could this be the blister?

 

A busy day in Giglio, hopefully the Parbuckle will be still on schedule for the 4th September.

[lightman1984]

Removal report has been posted for last week, and includes some photos of the blister structure, which will be installed this week. Blisters are on the way by barge due to arrive Wednesday, Lone will do the lifting from the barge down to the water, and M30 will install Thurs-Sat.

 

http://www.giglionews.it/images/stories/allegati/rel_sett_osservatorio110813.pdf

[lightman1984]

with a rough translation it looks like the Blister is on board Pontoon Mak and the Ril is assisting in tow. Tracking Ril on vessel finder, which is enroute to Giglio might clue the arrival of the blister

 

http://www.vesselfinder.com/?imo=8116441

Edited August 12, 2013 by lightman1984

[clive and anne]

Thanks Lightman.

Lone sailed to San Stephano last evening so I presumed it would sail back this morning.

Ril and Mak (sounds like a comedy double act) are due early tomorrow morning.

So why is Lone hanging about I wonder.

[CTH]

Can safely say I have no idea whatsoever what is hanging under Micoperi 30's sheerleg crane @ the moment!! She just lifted it off one of the large barge/platforms. It appears to be 3 very large spikes or pillars held together by a central plate,if that makes any sense?!...

 

Any ideas anyone?

[clive and anne]

I think we are about to find out, Micoperi is approaching the wreck with what I presume is the gear you talked about CTH.

One thing puzzled me this morning. The new camera showed a vessel with a crane working on the port side, I took that to be Vincenzo Cosentino which I think is the ship you mentioned yesterday that has been anchored away from the scene for a few days. However Vessel finder said it was Afon Cefni which is only a small tug with no crane.

[lightman1984]

Progress chart for the week has "Bow Blisters Pipes installation" marked for today... so I have no clue what purpose that serves but I expect that's what M30 has on for right now.

[CTH]

Hi Clive,

 

Just worked it out! Concordia has three bow thrusters in the bottom of her hull @ the bow. Those 3 spikes/ prongs etc are abouts to be dropped down through the 3 bow thruster tunnels/shafts presumably to form part of the blister attachment to CC's hull.

 

Don't know whether the bow thruster props have been removed or whether they will 'ram' them out with the weight of the spikes? The 3 spikes must be heavy as Micoperi is lower in the water on her stern end (under the sheerleg crane).

 

The plate holding the 3 spikes together 'tapers', or is 'shaped' similar to CC's bow shape, & will stop the spikes from dropping straight through the three tunnels onto the seabed.

Edited August 12, 2013 by CTH

[clive and anne]

Certainly seems to be a lot of inventive engineering going on.

[SomeBeach]

Certainly seems to be a lot of inventive engineering going on.

 

I think "inventive engineering" pretty well describes this whole project. ;):D

Thanks for all the info provided on what went on over the weekend. I never even checked in at Giglio as I had a few bad days with my knee. Looks like I missed a lot.

[SomeBeach]

Not totally related to the salvage but an interesting short read.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-italy-giglio-20130809,0,6836556.story

[CTH]

Just been having another look @ the 2 blister photos in the latest weekly report.

 

The 1st photo shows the 2 blisters bolted together. The 2nd photo shows one half or one side of the blister. Funnily enough it is sitting on top of 4 red/orange flatbed vehicles being transported/manoeuvered on a road between oldish looking buildings. It is vast in size!

 

Looking lower down on the blister, it has 3 'y' shaped slots positioned in a horizontal line between the tubular bars. I'm guessing that the ends/tips of the 3 spikes / bow blister pipes, which are still being lowered into the bow thruster shafts as I type, will locate into these 'y' shape slots & keep the blister in position whilst it is welded to CC's hull.

[clive and anne]

Hi Micki

So nice to hear from you. Sorry to hear the knee is playing up I hope it gets better quickly.

You did miss the fitting of P13 which was made so much better with the new camera. Today we have had the curious sight of Micoperi 30 using its "big" crane fitting a curious piece of gear that we are thinking are some sort of plug/fixing for the blister in the area of the bow thrusters.

Tomorrow we are expecting the arrival of the blister being towed on a barge, last time I looked it had just passed Rome and should be on site early tomorrow. This could be the best yet for the new camera angle.

Hope you can watch.

Best Wishes

Clive

[SomeBeach]

Thanks Clive. The progress with my knee is slow but steady... kinda like Concordia. :D

I was just taking another look at the pix of the infamous Blisters. Maybe I'm confused but looking at the top pix, are they one for each side, port and starboard?

[clive and anne]

I think the general consensus is that there is one for each side.

[Bearded Engineer]

I think the general consensus is that there is one for each side.

 

According to the latest weekly report they are going to install both sides of the blister before the parbuckling. I think they are going to fill them with air because they want the bouyancy to releave some of the strain on the hull since a large section of the forward part of the ship will not be supported by the platforms.

[SomeBeach]

This from Giglio News:

"The Costa Concordia must be dismantled in Italy in port equipped for this kind of operations closer to the isola del Giglio. Enough with the shame of ship scrapping in reverse. Can no longer make savings economic reasoning on cases like those of Concord, it is necessary to ensure a dismantling of safety and protection of workers and the environment ".

 

It is the reflection of Sebastiano Venneri, head of Legambiente sea, after the incident in Turkey during dismantling operations of Love Boat, which caused the death of two workers in the shipyard of Aliaga, near the city of Izmir. An episode that turns the spotlight on the infamous world scandal scrapping of ships at the lowest cost, without any protection for workers and no containment of pollution, particularly in India where most of the ships in the world at the end of life.

 

"Even for the Concordia-Valdez-among the various options envisaged to save, there has been talk of a disposal in Turkey, but the wreck, once put into flotation, should not go around the Mediterranean. Must make the fewest miles possible and be disposed of in the nearest port equipped for this purpose ".

 

"The European Union, concluded the head of Legambiente sea-launched an injunction that forces owners to locate certified sites for disposal of ships. We are asking for more: we ask that every country implements some ports for this purpose, so you do not go around the ships out of use and do not continue to download these toxic bombs on the skin of the poorest on the planet ".

 

http://www.giglionews.it/2013081359930/news/isola-del-giglio/legambiente-su-incidente-love-boat-e-smaltimento-concordia.html#addcomments

 

The last I had heard about The Love Boat was that she went into Turkey listing. I looked into the accident after dismantling began and found that 2 workers died from toxic gas in the engine room.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2013/08/12/two-killed-love-boat/2642045/

[clive and anne]

Good morning All

Well it looks like a very early and busy start to the day.

Micoperi continues its work from yesterday, Lone has appeared staying just away from the wreck, Vincenzo Cosentino is standing by and Ril has just appeared. There are also several support tugs flitting around.

Question for BE, I presumed that the bow is very close to the seabed with parts of the bow on the seabed and would be supported by the grout bags during the parbuckle.If this is correct wont they have problems fitting the starboard side blister before she is righted ??

[sidari]

Clive ... I think that once the Concordia is upright and on the undersea support there will be room to attach the Starboard side Blister.

[sidari]

Having just looked at the latest video from the site could it be that there will be Two Blisters on each side ?

[Bearded Engineer]

Good morning All

Well it looks like a very early and busy start to the day.

Micoperi continues its work from yesterday, Lone has appeared staying just away from the wreck, Vincenzo Cosentino is standing by and Ril has just appeared. There are also several support tugs flitting around.

Question for BE, I presumed that the bow is very close to the seabed with parts of the bow on the seabed and would be supported by the grout bags during the parbuckle.If this is correct wont they have problems fitting the starboard side blister before she is righted ??

 

If you look at the 3D rendering pics (in the "multimedia" "project" section) on the parbuckling web site it shows that forward rock that the ship rests on is behind the bridge. The bow is free. You can see from the other illustrations that after the parbuckle the forward 25% of the ship will be unsupported.

[Bearded Engineer]

There is a good view of the blister tanks on the Giglio web cam right now.

[clive and anne]

Thanks for the explanation BE. I had not seen that 3d image before and now its self explanatory.

Do we think that the blister is being loaded onto Lone at this moment.

It was interesting this morning that Ril and the barge sailed straight passed the camera and was followed by Voe Venture and Voe Earl towards the bottom of the island. A couple of hours later ,when I next looked they were all back near Lone. Not sure what that could have been all about.

[Uniall]

Two die during dismantling of legendary 'Love Boat'

 

NBC News :Travel

http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/two-die-during-dismantling-legendary-love-boat-6C10900645

 

Rob Lovitt NBC News contributor

 

 

Everett Collection

 

The MS Pacific, best known as "The Love Boat," is being dismantled at a ship scrapyard in Turkey.

 

The scrapping of a ship that introduced millions of Americans to cruising has taken a turn from the sad to the tragic as two workers at a shipbreaking facility in Turkey were killed while working on the ship this weekend.

According to Istanbul’s Hurriyet Daily News, the workers were killed by toxic exhaust while using a pump to drain water from the engine room of the MS Pacific at a scrapyard in Izmir after a rough sailing from Genoa, Italy.

The ship was previously known as the Pacific Princess, aka "The Love Boat," which served as the backdrop for the popular TV show from 1977 to 1986. Helmed by the oft-bemused Capt. Stubing (Gavin MacLeod), the show captured the antics of crewmembers, including Purser “Gopher” Smith (Fred Grandy) and Julie McCoy (Lauren Tewes), and chronicled the romantic adventures of celebrity guest stars.

The combination proved a boon both for ABC, which broadcast the show, and the cruise industry, which gained a new audience for its services.

 

Everett Collection

 

"The Love Boat" aired on ABC from 1977-1986. The cast (clockwise) included Ted Lange, Bernie Kopell, Lauren Tewes,Gavin MacLeod, Fred Grandy,

 

“Back then, no one really knew what cruising was all about,” said Stewart Chiron, aka, The Cruise Guy. “Every Saturday night the ‘The Love Boat’ came into our homes and showed us all the fun and adventures that could be had on a cruise.”

By today’s standards, the Pacific Princess was tiny. At 554 feet long and roughly 20,000 tons, it carried 646 passengers, mostly on short sailings along Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

By comparison, today’s cruise ships regularly top 120,000 tons, with the biggest ones “tipping the scales” (tonnage is actually a measure of volume, not weight) at a whopping 250,000 tons.

Needless to say, they offer a vastly different experience, as well.

Like the TV show, the Pacific Princess was all about quick trips to what were then exotic ports like Puerto Vallarta.

“You got on the ship in Los Angeles for a quick getaway,” said Mike Driscoll, editor in chief of Cruise Week, an industry publication. “You’d kick back and have a few beers — there was really nothing to do on board.”

Today’s cruise ships, on the other hand, are essentially floating resorts with non-stop activities from aerobics classes to zip lines and so many bars, restaurants and entertainment venues that some passengers forgo port visits entirely.

“Cruising isn’t about getting off in Puerto Vallarta and buying some trinkets,” said Driscoll. “It’s a lifestyle in itself.”

As such, the Pacific Princess could never compete in today’s market, essentially sealing its fate long before it made its final sailing.

In 2002, the ship was sold to Pullmantour Cruises of Spain. Renamed the Pacific, it headed for Genoa, Italy, for a major retrofit in 2008 but was seized by authorities after its owners abandoned it. Sold for scrap in 2012, it was towed to Izmir last week.

Although the scrapping of the ship was probably inevitable, the demise of what could be considered a starring member of “The Love Boat” will likely be a sad reminder for many that TV shows aren’t the only things that get “canceled.”

“We see these efforts to save certain ships — the SS United States, the former QE2,” said Chiron. “It’s sad that there was no effort to save this ship.”

Edited August 13, 2013 by Uniall